Between empowerment and abuse: citizen participation beyond the post-democratic turn

Abstract

In this special issue on "Democratization beyond the Post-Democratic Turn. Political Participation between Empowerment and Abuse", we have explored changing understandings of participation in contemporary Western representative democracies through the analytical lens of the concept of the post-democratic-turn. We have investigated technology-based, market-based, and expert-led innovations that claim to enhance democratic participation and to provide policy legitimation. In this concluding article, I revisit the cases made by the individual contributors and analyse how shifting notions of participation alter dominant understandings of democracy. I carve out how new and emerging ideas of participation are based on different understandings of political subjectivity; furthermore, how constantly rising democratic expectations and simultaneously increasing scepticism with regard to democratic processes and institutions point to a growing democratic ambivalence within Western societies. Making use of Dahl's conceptualization of democracy, in this article, I review changing understandings of participation in light of their contribution to further democratization. The article shows how under postdemocratic conditions the simulative performance of autonomy and subjectivity has become central to democratic participation. It emphasizes that what in established perspectives on democratization might appear as an abuse of participation, through the lens of a post-democratic-turn might be perceived as emancipatory and liberating.

Democratising Smart Cities? Penta-Helix Multistakeholder Social Innovation Framework

“…The article is structured as follows: The next section presents the literature review of SI, the third section discusses the methodology of the penta-helix carried out in the three case studies, and the fourth section compares and examines the empirical results. The final section concludes with the main results and offers an array of research avenues to continue exploring how SI may enhance the democratisation in smart cities [55].…”

How can cultural policy strengthen the arts and cultural sector?

“…In discretionary funding and procurement situations, bureaucrats are sometimes required to make decisions about 'who gets what' (Lasswell 1936) although more often such decisions require funding panel/committee/board and ministerial approval. The bureaucrats described their funding influence as mostly relating to preparation and evaluation of funding frameworks and programs, which held stories that correspond with concepts of an enduring neo-liberalist era (Crouch 2016, Butzlaff 2020.…”

“…Cultural policy action resulting from sector consultation often occurs without broader public consultation due to time constraints and perceptions of engagement fatigue or democracy fatigue. Butzlaff (2020) describes this fatigue as a state in which citizens distrust politicians and rely on public authorities and experts to make decisions on their behalf.…”

“…Sector stakeholders' input into policy processes, as Rhonda points out, may or may not represent the diverse needs and interests of the public, prescribing cultural value based on sector and investor insights and expertise. This too can be categorised as a post-democratic approach to cultural policy (Butzlaff 2020, von Beyme 2018, Crouch 2011, situated within the conceptual framework's (Figure 3.1) action/sustainability intersection. This form of cultural policy as democracy appears to be undertaken mostly through government-to-sector dialogue, which as John highlights, results in better policy results for the sector.…”

“…As discussed in Chapter 1.4, policy researchers (von Beyme 2018, Belfiore 2018, Jancovich 2019, Butzlaff 2020, Crouch 2005 have problematised contemporary democratic approaches to cultural policy as being post-democratic in nature. They argue there has been a public policy stasis resulting from enduring neo-liberal approaches in which a small group of policy elites determine arts and cultural values, support, and outcomes.…”